Joshua City animal services director seeks budget and facility upgrades as county bond could force shelter move

The Joshua City Animal Control Advisory Board approved the previous meeting minutes by unanimous voice vote and spent the bulk of its session on an operational briefing and budget and capital-improvement requests from animal services.

"My name is Tommy Miller. I came on December 16," said Tommy Miller, who led the presentation. Miller described changes since he started, including active patrols in neighborhoods, expanded trapping for feral cats, an uptick in volunteer and community-service hours, and updated vaccination and quarantine procedures.

Miller told the board the shelter corrected record-keeping that earlier showed 76 animals in the system but only 42 physically at the facility. He said staff found more than 50 animals in the database that had not been dispositioned and took steps to reconcile the inventory. "We immediately began working to find out and correct all those instances," Miller said.

Why it matters: Miller asked the advisory board to endorse several budget increases and a capital-improvement project so he can carry them forward to the citycouncil. The board's backing would strengthen staff requests for more vaccine funding, a software upgrade, safety footwear, trap deposits, and a paved, numbered outdoor run area designed to reduce cross-contamination and improve daily cleaning.

Operations and public-health steps

Miller said the shelter has expanded active community patrols to 1025 hours per week and increased public access at the facility, which has raised visitor counts and phone responsiveness. He described…